Rangers centre-back Marvin Andrews has been ruled out of Trinidad and Tobago's opening game against Sweden after suffering a recurrence of a knee injury.
The 30-year-old defender suffered the setback when he broke down in training, a massive blow for the nation and the player who has been one of their consistent performers during the qualifying campaign.He is likely to be replaced by Brent Sancho or Ian Cox, who both play for Gillingham.
Trinidad coach Leo Beenhakker said: 'Marvin won't make it tomorrow, that's for sure.
'The injury happened when he stepped a little bit wrong in training.
'He's had a scan on the knee and we will need 24 to 48 hours to try and calm it down.
'Then we will see how long it will take for him to be fit again.'
Rangers centre-back Andrews had forged a partnership with Wrexham's Dennis Lawrence, one of the main reasons why Trinidad went from being outsiders to securing a place in the finals.
Beenhakker added: 'It is a little bit of a problem as Marvin was playing on a certain level for Glasgow Rangers.
'He has international experience as well as Champions League experience.
'He is a very strong guy, a very important guy for the team but we have to accept the situation.
'Injuries are part and parcel of football. You hear about it all the time.
'After playing in all the qualifying matches Marvin is very unlucky.'
Andrews initially suffered cruciate ligament damage in the 2-0 win in the Bank of Scotland Premier League at Dundee on March 13 2005.
The injury forced him to pull out of the CIS Insurance Cup final win over Motherwell at Hampden Park the following week.
But once it was diagnosed as cruciate damage the registered faith healer defied medical advice and refused to have an operation.
